Jesus said “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
(from New Revised Standard Version)
For Christians things are topsy-turvy to the rest of the world. To get to the top of the tree people often push everyone else out of the way. We have a saying: “It’s a dog eat dog world!” Even the nicest of us can be selfish, wanting our own way. How many times have we picked the best cake on the plate, or chosen to do what we want to do rather than help someone else? None of us are perfect.
But Jesus called His followers to ignore what the world does, and to put self aside. We are to be the servants of others, with no reward for the hidden work that we do, except to know that Jesus called us to serve.
Jesus called Himself the ‘Son of Man’ which was a hint to those who knew their Hebrew scriptures that He was the Messiah who had come to save them. But he also used this name when he wanted to warn them that He was going to suffer. He was not be a King as the world knew it. He would give up His life so that we could be saved.
Lord Jesus,
We thank you that you were a suffering servant,
and that you died so we might have eternal life.
Help us to remember our role as servants
especially at this time of crisis.
We thank you for those who are helping us,
in a myriad of small ways,
and especially for those on whom we rely.
Amen.